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Hume and Smith on Sympathy, Approbation, and Moral Judgment

David Hume and Adam Smith are usually, and understandably, seen as developing very similar sentimentalist accounts of moral thought and practice. Hume’s views are better known, not least because Smith’s work on moral sentiments fell in the shadow of his tremendously influential Wealth of Nations. This shadowing is unfortunate, both because Smith’s work on moral sentiments is deeply insightful and because it provides a crucial moral context for understanding his economic theory.